What, SUMMER'S gone?

I can't believe I haven't taken any pictures on my camera since Palm Springs....but summer is always here and gone before you know it.
To recap, after Palm Springs it was the 4th of July. Most of the family went to Bear Lake. Ben got warning ticket for shooting off fireworks that I asked him to buy, the boys all worked at making home-made anchors for the boat and raft, Poppy and Ben made and shot off rockets that everyone loves to watch and we enjoyed boating on my favorite lake. Whitney, Sammi and Lulu went to Ohio later in the month so Jim and I watched Mason for a few days. He is a tall, lanky and awesomely active 3 1/2 year old who doesn't stop moving, even at night. But it was fun to do some one on one bonding with him and we learned that he has alot of energy and.....tenacity (hang-on-to-it-iveness). This, I'm sure will serve him well in life.
I spent quite a bit of time at the cabin - just me. In between busy weekends, it was fun to 'chill' with Marg and Jan, who are often up their by themselves too. They have BIG ideas, as usual, and are trying to put together a Scandanavian Cruise for we sibs next summer. Sixteen days is a long time to be gone for Jim and I....but it will be hard to miss this trip!
August brought the BIG WEDDING of Kate Lindsay and our Richie. It was a lovely day (although Rich got Mono the day after). The next week our boarders Bob, Sara and Duncan moved to Pittsburgh for Bob to start his studies in Prosthetics. We got a scype account and are really loving seeing them all - especially our darling Duncan, up close and 'almost' personal, in the scype camera. We SURE MISS 'EM ALL!
Also, sometime during the hot summer months, I convinced Jim that we needed to L-I-V-E, and take a trip to Italy with the Lindsays. Soooo, we're off this weekend for Paris, Lausanne Switzerland and Italy! YIKES! We're excited and hoping it's everything we've anticipated for three months. Hoping we can really relax and enjoy the ambiance of Europe! PICTURES WILL BE FORTHCOMING.

I am loving my darling grandchildren. Corbin and Sammi just started kindergarter, Mason is a wild and crazy 3 year old and our babies Jaden (14 months), Luella ((10 months), Duncan (7 months),and Olivia (5 months) are growing and getting more lovable by the second. We just started up with our weekly 'cousins club' every Thursday afternoon, where we get together (Moms and kids) and visit and play. Besides enjoying them, I am really relishing my time with MOOTSIE lately. We just celebrated her 89th birthday here at our home this week. She lasted almost 3 hours and, although she is getting quite frail since we moved her to SUNRISE in March, she is still such a GOOD SPORT. I think she is really in better form mentally than she was for her birthday last year. We feel so blessed that Dad left her with the means to be taken care of in such a great mannon. The workers at SUNRISE say Mom is their favorite; often the hardest and busiest, but the most FUN! I hope I can take a leaf our of her book as I age.
Arreviderchi until our return in October!